From: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org (precious-things-digest) To: precious-things-digest@smoe.org Subject: precious-things-digest V8 #229 Reply-To: precious-things@smoe.org Sender: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "precious-things-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. precious-things-digest Tuesday, October 7 2003 Volume 08 : Number 229 Today's Subjects: ----------------- mtv.com mixfest review [fingerpuppets ] boston globe mixfest review [fingerpuppets ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 22:40:14 -0400 From: fingerpuppets Subject: mtv.com mixfest review tori gets a couple comments.... Mraz, Branch Drive Crowd Wild; Duran Duran Drives 'Em Away 10.06.2003 9:26 PM EDT BOSTON . Fans filled the FleetCenter Friday night to see Vertical Horizon, Jason Mraz, Michelle Branch, Dido, Tori Amos, Train and the Barenaked Ladies, but people actually fled the venue to avoid seeing Duran Duran. With only six hours for eight artists to perform at WBMX-FM's 10th annual MixFest, the evening was strictly a hits-and-only-the-hits affair, with some artists playing fewer than five songs. Michelle Branch took the stage early in support of her latest album, Hotel Paper, clad simply in jeans, a sleeveless white T-shirt and Chuck Taylors. Charging through a brisk set of hits, the 20-year-old girl-wonder seemed most at home with an acoustic guitar in hand, belting out pitch-perfect versions of "Everywhere" and "Goodbye to You." But when liberated from her instrument for "Love Me Like That," "Breathe" and current hit "Are You Happy Now?," Branch's stage presence . which consisted primarily of aimlessly wandering the stage . felt uncomfortably green, especially when compared to the frenzied ants-in-her-pants gyrations of Tori Amos or the pristine control of Dido. At her first live show in several months, Dido showed that less is more in a stripped-down, five-song set accompanied solely by a lone acoustic guitarist. The sugar-voiced chanteuse . wearing jeans, simple gold jewelry and her dark blonde hair pulled back in a spray . leaned against a small wooden stool and beamed at the hushed audience as she chimed out immaculate renditions of the hits "White Flag" and "Thank You" as well as the title track from her new Life for Rent. Jason Mraz looked less like the Hugh Grant-ish photo from the back of his Waiting for My Rocket to Come and more like Jimmy Buffet as he took the stage wearing a slouch hat pulled down over his eyes and a flowered lei that had been tossed onstage by a fan. For 20 minutes he and his band churned out a soulful set of tunes including "The Remedy" as well as a quirky reggaed-up version of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful," during which Mraz's swooping tenor hit high notes unheard on his record. Mraz wasn't the only one to embrace cover songs. Train blasted out a searing rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On," and Tori Amos howled through haunting versions of the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun," Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Amos further pushed the creepy envelope when her playing became so frenzied that she could be seen on the FleetCenter's giant video screen drooling onto her grand piano. Finally it was time for the reunited original lineup of Duran Duran . a moment that most of the night's artists seemed to be looking forward to. The Barenaked Ladies did an impromptu rap about their love of Duran Duran, Dido admitted she had seen them at least 10 times, and even Michelle Branch, whose birth date falls a few years after the double-D's first flush of fame, said she was "psyched." It quickly became apparent, however, that the artists were far more excited than the audience. Well coiffed and in immaculate black suits, Duran Duran looked sharp as ever, but their age was definitely showing, despite attempts to hide it with makeup and hair dye. So it felt a bit wrong when singer Simon LeBon opened their set by belting out the lyrics to the band's 1984 hit "Wild Boys" . lines like "Wild Boys never lose it/ Wild Boys always shine!" There for the novelty and not much more, a good third of the crowd streamed out of the venue during the first half of the band's set, so when the Durans finally slipped into gear on "Ordinary World," which they dedicated to the recently deceased Robert Palmer, only hardcore fans were left to watch Duran Duran nail "Notorious," "Careless Memories" and "Rio" as well as their own cover, a hard rocking rendition of Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines." "Wild boys fallen far from glory ..." - -Erin Amar ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 22:53:19 -0400 From: fingerpuppets Subject: boston globe mixfest review there's a photo and a review of the entire show, with one paragraph about tori, at High-energy acts fuel MixFest party By Sarah Tomlinson, Globe Correspondent, 10/6/2003 MixFest X With Barenaked Ladies, Train, Duran Duran, Tori Amos, Dido, Michelle Branch, Jason Mraz, Vertical Horizon At: the FleetCenter, Friday night It was as if the MTV generation's defining anthem, "Video Killed the Radio Star," was turned on its head at MixFest X at the FleetCenter on Friday night. The 10th annual music festival, hosted by radio station Mix 98.5, attracted listeners who went wild for acts with recent radio hits, such as Barenaked Ladies and Train. But most didn't even stick around for headliners Duran Duran, who once epitomized video-age style but haven't had a radio hit in more than the "Decade of Mix Music" the concert celebrated. Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, who MC'd the night's end, confessed he still wants to be John Taylor of Duran Duran, but he may be the only one, as a preteen attendee a few rows back confessed to friends, "I don't even know who Duran Duran is." But diehard fans were rewarded by a high energy set of hits bursting with metallic jungle rhythms and Simon LeBon's seductively supple vocals on set opener "The Wild Boys," through "Hungry Like the Wolf," to the encore song, "Rio." And although the band didn't play an entirely tight set, they were debonair as ever in their slick suits. The crowd squeezed maximum fun from the rest of the night, even between bands, when they sang along to video of past MixFest concerts and sent a rippling wave of raised arms around the arena. Fans leapt from their seats to cheer goofy Canadian troubadours Barenaked Ladies, who delivered a playful set that included plenty of banter and several silly raps specially tailored for the Boston crowd, including one about singing at Fenway Park on Saturday. Their sunny pop rippled with loose guitar jams, thick upright bass, and soaring vocal harmonies on hits from "One Week" to "If I Had a Million Dollars." The flirtatious hip shaking and crooning of Train frontman Patrick Monahan was received with shrieks of adoration, as the band romped through a set that included "Meet Virgina" and "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" and a fiery rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." The dramatic theatrics and regal piano delivered by Tori Amos during her taught set didn't seem as tuned to the crowd's party mood, but she received a warm response as she played a striking set loaded with covers. She tackled a sultry version of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire," a deeply moody take on Neil Young's "Needle and the Damage Done," and a tensely dramatic rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Dido delivered a subtle, good-natured set that highlighted the airy heights of her voice, as she performed seated. Accompanied by only an acoustic guitar player, she ran through hits including "Thank You" and offered a peek at her new album with the lightly melodic "Life for Rent." While Michelle Branch looked as if she's still growing into her stage presence, her voice sounded full and warm during her short set. But Jason Mraz looked right at home as he serenaded the cheering ladies in the audience with love songs carried by a calypso beat. Local rock crooners Vertical Horizon opened the night of radio friendly rock. Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. ------------------------------ End of precious-things-digest V8 #229 *************************************